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THE  GREEN  BOX 


Heartman's  Historical  Series  No.  19 


/LA  CASSETTE  VERTE% 

\  DE  / 

f      MONSIEUR  DE  SARTINE,     1 

S  ,  r 

/  Trouvee  ckei  \ 

5  MADEMOISELLE  DUTHfi.  ( 

\  J 


g       Ipfe  dolos  tedli  ambagefque  refolvit. 

^  Virgil. 

/    


J  (Cinquieme  Edition  revue  &  conigh  fur  % 

\^  celUs  dc  Leipfic  &  d'^wlmjlerdam.  )  f 

/  =,,,,,,,,,,=,^  s 

%  "^^  / 

/  A    L  A    H  A  Y  E,  S 

J  Chez  la  Veuve  Whiskerfcld,  in  dc  Platte  f 

5f  Borze  by  de  Vrydagmcrkt.  \ 

I  M.  DCC.  LXXIX.  f 


THE  GREEN  BOX 

OF 

MONSIEUR  DE  SARTINE 

FOUND  AT 

MADEMOISELLE    DU  THE 


Ipse  dolos  tecti  ambagesque  resolvit 

Virgil 


Slity-flvo  copies  printed  for 
Oharlea  F.  Heartman.  New  York  City 

1910 


Number  .ir?3of  sixty-five  copies  printed 
on  Fabriano  handmade  paper. 

Also  seven  copies  printed  on  Japan  Vel- 
lum. 


Copyright,    1916 

by 

CHARLES  P.   HBARTMAN 


A  WORD  TO  THE  READER 

What  a  contradictory  mixture  of  precaution  and 
negligence  is  revealed  in  the  conduct  of  ministers 
of  all  countries! 

In  France,  as  in  England,  they  enclose  their 
secret  papers  in  green  strongboxes.  Unfortu- 
nately these  boxes  sometimes  go  astray. 

It  is  to  such  precaution  and  to  such  negligence 
6o     that  I  am  indebted  for  the  discovery  of  the  politi- 
t     cal  ruses  of  Monsieur  de  Sartine.     About  six 
>_     weeks  ago  while  making  my  morning  calls  with 
^     the  Reverend  Father  Anselme,  Jacobin,  we  were 
25     passing    Mademoiselle    du     The's    house.      We 
knocked.     Her  chambermaid,  a  petite  but  very 
^     piquante  brunette,  whose  eyes  forever  appear  to 
^     be  demanding  absolution,  opened  the  door  for  us. 
^     Seeing  that  her  docility  was  not  displeasing  to  my 
°     companion,  and  that  he  v/as  dying  to  make  her  his 
penitent,  I  left  them  and  slipped  into  the  apart- 
.     ment  of  her  mistress  to  whom  I  hoped  to  render 
o     the  same  kind  services.    The  door  of  her  boudoir 
^      was  slightly  ajar  and  I  had  hardly  entered  before 
2      I  perceived  a  plumed  hat  and  a  sword  lying  on 
uj      the  sofa.     My  curiosity  being  excited,   I   deter- 
q      mined  to  see  what  else  I  might  find  in  the  room. 
<         I  give  here  but  a  detail  of  what  I  saw;  I  con- 
tent myself  with  saying  that  by  dint  of  a  thorough 
search  I  found  a  green  box  hidden  in  the  veils 
of  the  mirror.    What  a  discovery  for  a  Jacobin ! 
It  is  necessary  to  remark  that  M.  de  Sartine,  who 


447340 


had  not  left  the  king  until  a  very  late  hour,  was 
still  in  the  arms  of  Mademoiselle  du  The,  while 
I  took  possession  of  the  box.  I  leave  it  to  the 
Sophists  to  determine  which  of  us  was  the  happier. 

Having  then  seized  the  box  and  having  hidden 
it  under  my  overcoat  I  stealthily  left  the  room 
and  went  home  with  the  intention  of  studying 
politics.  I  left  my  companion  behind  without  the 
least  qualms  of  conscience — he  was  no  doubt  amus- 
ing himself  at  a  somewhat  different  game. 

I  avow  I  had  at  first  some  scruples  as  to  what 
use  I  should  make  of  the  contents  of  the  box, 
but  reflecting  that  to  a  man  in  my  position  it  is 
a  sacred  duty  to  know  all  secrets,  and  that  even 
a  king,  who  in  confessional  dares  to  hide  his 
slightest  thoughts  is  looked  upon  as  a  profligate, 
a  minister,  therefore,  who  locks  his  secrets  in 
a  strongbox  is  assuredly  a  declared  enemy  of  reli- 
gion, and  I  concluded  that  M.  de  Sartine,  or  at 
least  his  strongbox,  should  be  subjected  to  rigor- 
ous questioning. 

But,  you  ask  me,  why  publish  these  secrets? 
Does  your  oath  not  oblige  you  to  conceal  them? 
Is  it  not  sufficient  to  be  aware  of  them  without 
publishing  them?  My  answer  is  that  the  papers 
themselves  shall  plead  my  cause  and  serve  as  my 
justification.  The  critics,  in  comparing  Sartine's 
box  to  that  of  Pandora,  will  not  hesitate  to  com- 
pare the  editor  with  Epimetheus.  There  is,  how- 
ever, a  great  difference  between  us.  Epimetheus 
opened  his  box  and  war  and  discord  spread  on 
earth  for  the  first  time,  but  all  evil  had  long  ago 
spread  in  France  when  I  opened  that  of  Sartine. 
Does  not  the  fabulist  in  telling  us  that  hope,  how- 

8 


ever,  still  remained,  mean  to  tell  us  that  a  care- 
ful, thorough  search  will  reveal  our  hope  at  the 
bottom  of  all  green  boxes?  If,  in  one  word,  I 
can  prove  by  these  papers  that  one  can  no  longer 
rely  on  the  ministers  of  PYance  and  still  less  on 
the  opposition  in  England,  which  of  my  readers, 
having  the  happiness  of  his  country  at  heart,  will 
not  be  thankful  to  me  for  having  published  them? 
As  to  you,  my  compatriots,  you  whom  I  love 
and  to  whom  my  exile  *  should  render  me  dear, 
if  I  have  been  unhappy  enough  to  be  culpable  of 
an  indiscretion,  I  do  not  doubt  that  you  will 
charge  this  to  the  ardent  but  blind  zeal  of  a  true 
patriot.  But  while  I  am  suffering,  will  you  not 
do  something  for  yourselves?  Will  you  not  al- 
ways think  and  act  as  true  Frenchmen? 


•  So  soon  as  the  editor  had  resolved  to  publish  these  papers  he 
believed  the  wisest  thing  he  could  do  would  be  retire  to  Holland. 
The  Bastille  was,  and  still  Is,  the  avowed  enemy  of  all  pres;- 
llberty. 


, PREFACE 

The  editor  believed  it  his  duty  to  publish  these 
papers  in  the  same  order  in  which  he  took  them 
from  the  box,  and  the  good  opinion  which  he  has 
of  the  perspicacity  of  his  readers  does  not  allow 
him  to  add  his  remarks. 


11 


THE  GREEN  BOX 

INSTRUCTIONS  FOR  MYSELF  * 

When  his  Majesty  starts  speaking  to  me  about 
the  misery  of  the  people,  of  the  complete  exhaus- 
tion of  the  exchequer,  or  similar  things  it  is  time 
to  address  him  in  favor  of  the  glory,  the  love  of 
the  empire,  and  above  all  of  Louis  the  Great. 

If  his  Majesty  inquires  for  particulars  regard- 
ing the  loss  of  Pondicherry,  I  shall  begin  talking 
about  the  artillery,  the  arms  and  other  munitions 
of  war  taken  so  gloriously  at  Senegal.  The 
transition  from  Asia  to  Africa  is  not  so  very  con- 
siderable, and  his  Majesty  is  a  poor  student  of 
geography. 

D'Estaing's  fleet  is  in  so  bad  a  situation  that 
it  is  high  time  I  discovered  that  I  always  thought 
he  would  not  be  successful.  At  the  last  levee  I 
appeared  troubled,  'tis  true,  but  that  is  not  suffi- 
cient. It  will  soon  be  necessary  to  decide.  Good ! 
the  next  time  the  king  speaks  of  D'Estaing  I  am 
resolved  to  shake  my  head  and,  if  necessary,  even 
to  shrug  my  shoulders. 

Although  it  is  quite  a  propos  to  praise  the  gene- 
rous love  and  disinterestedness  which  our  young 
king  has  shown  America,  sane  politics  neverthe- 
less forbid  me  to  say  too  much.     In  an  absolute 


•  It  Is  not  without  great  dlffloulty  that  the  author  was  ahlo  to 
deolpher  these  secret  Instructions.  As  the  MS.  shows,  they  have 
been  repeatedly  and  at  di^errnt  times  ha.-^tlly  jotted  down  by 
M.   de   Sartinc,   sometimes    with   a   pen,   sometimes   with   pencil. 

13 


monarchy  it  is  dangerous  to  speak  too  warmly  of 
the  love  of  liberty.  Besides,  it  might  appear  con- 
tradictory. For  if  at  present  we  are  generously 
inclined  towards  America,  we  should  not  so  soon 
forget  behaviour  of  the  English  regarding  the 
Isle  of  Corsica,  and  if  we  are  so  liberal  to  Dr. 
Franklin,  does  not  his  Britannic  Majesty  supply 
poor  Paoli's  living? 

It  will  be  prudent  to  engage  a  large  number  of 
poets,  sculptors  and  engravers  who  are  to  confirm 
the  good  opinion  of  himself  with  which  we  have 
inspired  the  king,  and  to  banish  boredom  from 
Versailles. 

Every  piece  of  bad  news  will  necessitate  a 
variation  in  flatteries  em.ployed.  Sometimes  the 
amusement  of  an  ode  where  he  shall  sit  among 
Jupiters,  among  Apollos,  among  Alexanders,  etc. 
At  other  times  to  surpass  if  possible  the  flatter- 
ing brush  of  Le  Brun.  The  sculptor  in  his  turn 
shall  represent  him  in  an  allegorical  form  of  a 
fountain  of  thirteen  water  jets  throwing  sprays 
over  thirteen  laurels.  As  to  the  engravers,  they 
will,  I  fear,  be  forced  to  put  their  genius  to  tor- 
ture to  invent  new  designs  for  their  medals.  For 
example:  His  Majesty  breaking  a  bundle  of  thir- 
teen fagots;  His  Majesty,  as  a  colossal  figure, 
standing  with  one  foot  in  Paris  the  other  in 
Philadelphia.  After  all,  I  think  it  will  not  be 
very  difficult  to  invent  novelties,  for  while 
Louis  XIV  is  busy  fighting  against  the  liberty 
of  Holland,  the  artists  will  exhaust  themselves 
with  designs  to  celebrate  his  love  of  liberty,  and 
in  striking  as  many  medals  as  he  suffers  defeats. 

Meanwhile,  if  we  cannot  procure  any  medals, 

14 


we  can  resort  to  tapestries.  Colbert,  with  a  fine 
knack  for  flattery  and  ceding  nothing  to  his 
compatriots  the  Scotchmen,  had  assuredly  no 
other  object  in  establishing  the  manufacture  of 
Gobelins  but  to  find  a  new  means  of  adulation. 
I  will  improve  on  the  idea  and  hang  the  palace 
at  Versailles  anew.  Design  for  tapestry:  thir- 
teen stripes,  symbolic  of  the  thirteen  States  of 
America,  strewn  with  fleurs  de  lis,  the  whole  in- 
terlaced with  laurels  in  woolen  weaving. 

Necker  has  a  little  too  much  conscience,  or  is 
sly  enough  to  try  and  make  everybody  believe  so. 
For  he  will  not  accept  any  emoluments  whatso- 
ever. But,  if  he  receive  no  favors,  no  contracts, 
no  presents,  does  he  not  give  the  lie  to  the  old 
proverb  "No  penny,  no  paternoster." 


15 


To  Monsieur  de  Sartine 

RUE  DE  GRAM  MONT,  PARIS 

London,  January  25,  1779. 

Monsieur, 

I  have  had  the  honor  of  receiving  your  orders 
which  were  transmitted  me  in  the  most  obliging 
manner  by  your  secretary.  The  connections 
which  several  years  of  residence  in  this  country 
have  enabled  me  to  make  combined  with  those 
you  so  aptly  indicate,  will  without  doubt  enable 
me  to  make  some  discoveries  which  are  worthy 
of  your  attention.  I  fear,  however,  that  they 
will  be  but  small  in  number.  Employed  in  this 
species  of  secret  embassy  by  any  other  than 
M.  de  Sartine,  it  would  perhaps  not  be  difficult 
for  me  to  exaggerate  and  to  repeat  minute  details 
with  an  officious  and  mysterious  zeal  which  would 
not  fail  to  be  of  advantage  to  me.  But  in  writ- 
ing to  you — what  events  could  I  communicate 
which  your  sagacity  had  not  already  foreseen? 
What  suggestions  could  I  make  which  you  as  an 
intelligent  man,  had  not  already  conceived?  This 
obstacle  would  be  difficult  to  surmount  in  any 
country,  but  it  is  a  hundred  times  more  so  in 
England,  the  Country  of  Freedom,  where  the 
offices  of  a  spy  are  nearly  reduced  to  nothing.  A 
dozen  newspapers  in  the  morning  and  as  many  in 
the  evening  leave  us,  forsooth,  with  nothing  to  do. 

16 


In  London  a  secret  is  a  prodigy,  even  in  the 
most  private  affairs.  As  to  public  affairs,  the 
patriots  glory  in  the  fact  that  a  liberal  constitu- 
tion has  a  perfect  horror  of  any  secret.  It  really 
appears  to  be  so,  for  the  gentlemen  of  the  opposi- 
tion demand  that  not  only  the  most  minute  ac- 
counts of  the  Army,  Navy  and  the  taxes  be  shown 
them.  They  also  demand  to  see  the  letters  of  the 
ministers,  the  most  secret  instructions  for  the 
different  departments,  and  lastly  all  papers,  the 
premature  communication  of  which  would  serve 
them  in  deranging  the  most  carefully  concerted 
plans  of  the  ministers.  They  demand,  I  say,  that 
these  papers  be  exposed  on  the  tables  of  the 
House  of  Parliament  where  they  have  seldom  been 
exhibited  before;  so  in  one  way  or  another  their 
contents  become  known,  are  printed,  and  in  a  few 
days  are  made  public.  Thus  the  ministers  of 
France  are  as  well  informed  as  are  those  of  Eng- 
land, and  study  things  with  much  greater  atten- 
tion and  a  hundred  times  more  profit  than  they 
who  first  demanded  their  publication.  Poor  en- 
couragement for  an  English  spy!  The  Gazettes, 
the  pamphlets,  the  debates  of  the  Houses  of  Par- 
liament, the  memoirs  and  the  bombast  of  periodi- 
cal libels  which  fill  to  overflowing  the  shop  of 
our  good  friend  the  Sieur  Almon,  exclude  the 
possibility  of  any  other  discoveries  in  so  small  a 
country  that  besides  is  stricken  with  politics. 

To  render  myself  really  useful  I  will  therefore 
confine  myself  to  the  secret  motives  and  hidden 
interests  which  agitate  the  opposition  and,  as 
the  Englishmen  themselves  publish  the  text  of 
their  politics,  to  write  the  commentary.    Engaged 

17 


as  we  are,  in  a  war  which  the  speeches,  the  pub- 
lications, the  predictions  and  the  threats  of  the 
English  opposition  have  forced  us  to  undertake, 
it  will  be  of  greatest  importance  to  penetrate 
their  intentions,  to  discover  their  designs,  or,  to 
express  it  better,  to  become  the  spies  of  their 
hearts  a  study  all  the  easier  for  a  disrobed  Jesuit, 
as  his  researches  will  be  directed  by  the  move- 
ments of  his  own  party.  I  am  invited  to  dine 
at  Lord  Shelburne's  and  will  seize  the  first  op- 
portunity which  presents  itself  to  send  you  my 
first  dispatches.  I  shall  be  only  too  happy  if  I 
can  give  you  proofs  of  my  great  respect  and 
perfect  attachment  with  which, 
I  have  the  honor  to  be, 

Your  very  humble,  very  obedient  and 

very  devoted,  and  very  faithful  servant. 


To  Monsieur  de  Sartine 

Old  Hotel  Lautrec. 

{Secret) 

My  dear  Sartine, 

Gerard,  in  the  last  letter  he  wrote  me,  gave 
a  pleasant  enough  account  of  what  happened  in 
the  first  audience  accorded  him  by  the  Congress. 
I  am  sending  it  you,  it  will  make  you  laugh. 
What  a  disgust  he  appears  to  have  for  this  despic- 
able vermin! 

Yours,  etc. 
Graviers  de  Vergennes. 

18 


Philadelphia,  August  21,  1778. 

My  dear  Monsieur, 

You  will  have  perceived  that  in  my  public  dis- 
patches I  have  exaggerated  as  strongly  as  possible 
the  details  of  my  first  audience,  so  as  to  give  the 
king  as  good  an  opinion  as  possible  of  his  new 
allies.  But  in  writing  to  you,  I  forget  the  minister 
and  mock  this  embassy  of  mine.  The  forced 
politeness  of  these  rebels  greatly  amused  my  secre- 
tary and  myself  so  we  have  drawn  up  the  enclosed 
account-current. 

I  am,  sincerely 
Your,  etc. 

CoNRADE  Alexandre  Gerard. 


Account-current  of  the  compliments  between 


Gerard 


and 


THE  Congress 


Debit 

To  one  carriage  and  six 
horses  to  drag  me  to  the 
audience,  including  two 
delegates. 

To  the  president  and  the 
Congress  who  rose  in  a 
body  at  my  entrance. 

To  having  listened  to  my 
French  and  having  it  trans- 
lated. 

To  the  speech  of  the  presi- 
dent and  his  ridiculous  bow 
after  having  finished. 


Credit 

Permission  to  one  of  them 
to  sit  on  the  same  seat  as 
I. 


A  bow  of  my  secretary  and 
myself. 


Listened  to  their  bad  Eng- 
lish. 


Permission  to  my  secretary 
to  make  a  copy. 


19 


To   27   awkward   bows   re-  One  on  my  part  and  26  ott 

ceived   at  one   time   or  an-  the   part  of   my   secretary, 
other  from  the  said  presi- 
dent and  the  said  Congress. 

To  having  placed  me  in  a  Consent  to  dine  with  them 

seat  vis-a-vis  of  the  presi-  after  the  audience. 


dent 

To 

honor  of  the  alliance.  pany 


Consented  to  be  surfeit  of 
To    all    getting    drunk    in      their  wine  and  their  com- 


To  Monsieur  de  Sartine 

London,  February  3,  -79. 

Monsieur, 

I  would  have  had  the  honor  of  giving  you  my 
news  sooner  had  I  not  been  restrained  from  trust- 
ing my  letters  to  the  mails  by  a  fear  of  discovery, 
being  thus  forced  to  await  a  safer  way.  I  have 
been  all  the  more  pressed  as  I  wanted  to  express 
my  thanks  for  permitting  me  to  draw  on  you  for 
the  sum  of  200  louis. 

A  few  days  after  writing  you  I  dined  at  Lord 
Shelburne's.  Monsieur  de  Flossac,  an  intimate 
friend  of  Dr.  Price  the  celebrated  actuary,  spoke 
so  favorably  to  him  of  me  that  the  doctor  coun- 
cilled  Lord  Shelburne  to  draw  me  within  his 
circle.  It  was  on  the  thirtieth  of  January,  a 
festival  for  every  good  republican!  We  were 
announced  and  immediately  ushered  into  the 
library.  Here  we  found  Lord  Shelburne  with  all 
the  members  of  his  party,  that  is  to  say,  with 
Colonel  Barre  and  Barrister  Dunning.  The  three 
polititians  were  oddly  enough   occupied.     They 

20 


were  listening  to  a  lecture  on  electricity  which 
Dr.  Priestly  was  delivering.  He  was,  however, 
continually  keeping  an  eye  on  politics.  They 
moreover  gave  themselves  up  to  experiments  of 
pure  curiosity,  one  of  which  was  rather  singular. 

They  put  orator  Dunning,  a  small  and  very 
fat  man,  on  a  stool  the  legs  of  which  were  stand- 
ing in  water;  in  a  manner  that  reminded  me  of 
the  reception  of  Dr.  Last  in  "The  Lame  Devil," 
a  comedy  of  the  late  Monsieur  Foot.  I  asked 
whether  he  was  going  to  make  a  speech,  when 
Lord  Shelburne  very  obligingly  signed  me  to 
touch  his  (Dunning's)  nose  with  the  tip  of  my 
finger.  I  did  so  and  to  my  great  displeasure  it 
showered  sparks.  At  first  I  suspected  that  the 
machine  had  been  constructed  with  the  intention 
of  illuminating  the  face,  but  I  was  told  that  it 
was  nothing  but  a  little  diversion  before  com- 
mencing the  real  experiments. 

Dunning  now  stepped  off  the  stool  and  a  brass 
wire  was  placed  around  his  neck  for  the  purpose 
of  conducting  the  electric  spark  through  his 
throat;  for  the  orator  has  a  very  raucous  voice 
and  Dr.  Priestly  has  flattered  him  into  believing 
that  in  a  few  years  these  operations,  often  re- 
peated, will  dissipate  the  phlegm  and  restore  his 
voice.  These  physical  politics  achieved,  Colonel 
Barre  began  speaking,  a  man  of  wit  but  very 
noisy!  Listening  to  him  one  begins  to  think 
that  there  is  no  one  in  France  whom  he  does  not 
know,  and  that  he  is  familiar  with  all  parts  of 
the  world.  I  confess  that  I  was  rather  astonished 
that  you  have  not  mentioned  him  to  me,  par- 


21 


ticularly  so  when  he  told  me  that  he  knew  you  very 
well  indeed.* 

The  Colonel's  voice  is  pitched  in  the  tones  of 
opposition,  it  is  a  baritone  capable  of  expressing 
the  fears  and  doubts  of  a  patriot,  and  has  a 
cadence  comparable  to  a  clap  of  thunder,  very 
useful  indeed  in  threatening  a  minister.  These 
two  orators  are  the  only  ones  whom  Lord  Shel- 
burne  allows  to  take  part  in  his  councils  and  to 
share  his  hopes.  He  is  not  making  a  mistake 
either,  for  the  one  has  the  reputation  of  being 
the  best  counsellor  that  money  can  buy  in  a  shady 
case,  and  the  other  passes  for  the  best  story  teller 
in  the  world. 

One  never  sees  strife  or  jealousy  prevail  in 
this  party;  and  how  could  that  be  possible? 
Doubtless  there  is  a  bond  of  faith  between  them 
that  in  politics  three  persons  are  as  one.  Sev- 
eral less  intimate  friends,  however,  are  not  de 
trap,  for  at  present  they  strongly  resemble  three 
admirals  who  have  no  vessels  to  command.  They 
are  too  proud  to  join  any  other  party,  whether 
it  be  the  government  or  the  opposition.  Lord 
Shelburne,  it  is  true,  is  a  sort  of  minister  by 
anticipation;  and  not  a  day  passes  without  his 
practising  the  role  which  he  thinks  he  will  ulti- 
mately play.  At  his  house  everything  is  ruled 
by  the  laws  of  etiquette.  He  receives  his  ordi- 
nary company  with  all  the  pomp  of  holding  a 
great  levee.  There  it  is  each  in  his  turn.  He 
portions  out  his  smiles  to  each  according  to  rank 
and  has  formulas  for  his  various  compliments. 


*  Although  I  know  nothing  whatever  nbout  this  gentleman  who 
knows  me  so  well,  it  would  be  sorry  policy  not  to  acknowledge 
an  acquaintance.     He  may  be  of  use  to  me  when  I  need  him. 

22 


In  his  conversation  he  aims  to  place  himself  on 
a  level  with  his  listener. 

So  far  as  I  am  able  to  judge  he  has  the  mania 
of  wanting  to  appear  as  patron  of  all  England. 
He  would  have  you  believe  that  the  fine  arts  exist 
in  England  only  by  his  means.  Somebody  invents 
a  new  rat-trap?  Not  to  believe  him  the  patron 
of  so  useful  an  artist  is  to  mortify  him  deeply. 
His  conversation,  the  subject  of  which  is  always 
politics,  is  so  much  a  mixture  of  the  sentiments 
and  phrases  of  his  two  friends  and  philosophers 
that  one  could  very  well  compare  him  with  a 
talking  encyclopaedia  in  which  the  different  sub- 
jects have  been  treated  by  different  professors. 
The  "Military  Art"  and  the  "Knowledge  of  the 
World  and  its  Ways"  by  Colonel  Barre,  all  the 
ruses  and  subtle  distinctions  of  law  by  Barrister 
Dunning,  philosophy  and  scepticism  by  Dr. 
Priestly,  and  the  political  paradoxes  by  my  friend 
Dr.  Price.  This  mixture  without  being  original, 
is  nevertheless  very  effective.  One  admires  the 
picture  that  produces  so  beautiful  an  effect  for 
if  the  trees  are  by  one  artist,  the  cattle  by  an- 
other and  the  figures  by  a  third,  the  design  is 
great  for  all  that  and  the  combined  beauties  so 
distributed  are  curious  and  splendid. 

A  rich  man  himself  he  devotes  much  time  to 
the  study  of  finance.  He  has  all  kinds  of  lists 
of  all  kinds  of  things.  He  had  the  kindness  to 
tell  me  in  confidence  that  he  has  a  thousand  new 
objects  for  a  thousand  new  taxes  and  that  he  has 
no  doubt  whatever  that  the  English  Nation  will 
have  reasons  to  be  thankful,  if  ever  he  becomes  a 
minister.     He  is  so  taken  with  his  calculations 

23 


that  he  thinks  of  them  in  all  places  and  at  all 
times.  Recently  he  assured  the  House  of  Lords, 
that  he  rode  in  Hyde  Park  every  day  to  make 
an  exact  estimate  of  the  horses  in  England  by 
the  proportional  number  in  Middlesex,  with  the 
idea  of  putting  a  tax  on  saddles  and  bridles. 

I  leave  it  to  your  usual  penetration  to  determine 
of  what  use  this  party  could  be  to  the  ministers 
of  France  in  decrying  those  of  England.    As  for 
me,  I  can  easily  divine  by  their  present  conduct 
of  what  use  they  would  be  to  you  if  they  were 
at  the  head  of  the  Ministry.    I  soon  hope  to  give 
you  a  sketch  of  the  Rockingham  Party. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be, 
Monsieur, 
Your  very  humble,  etc. 


To  Monsieur  de  Sartine 

Versailles,  March  22,  1778. 
Sunday  Evening 

My  dear  Friend, 

I  have  just  come  from  the  levee  of  the  Queen. 
It  has  been  of  a  perfectly  awful  length  and  your 
American  Ambassadors  have  had  their  audience. 
Had  it  lasted  a  little  longer  they  would  have  given 
me  a  head-ache  and  dispensed  me  from  the  task 
of  writing  to  you.  But  I  know  that  you  are  anx- 
ious to  know  whether  they  have  been  found  ac- 
ceptable, or  at  least  passable.  Everything  con- 
sidered— so  so.     But  to  whom  are  you  indebted 

24 


for  this?  To  the  Countess  Jule  de  Polignac  and 
myself.  We  had  enough  trouble  persuading  the 
Queen  to  endure  their  company,  I  assure  you. 
Unhappily  Mademoiselle  Bertin  had  been  admit- 
ted to  the  Queen  in  the  morning  and  you  know 
how  little  the  war  with  England  is  in  the  interest 
of  the  tailors.  She  had  so  ridiculed  the  ambassa- 
dors that,  when  they  entered.  Her  Majesty  had 
all  the  trouble  in  the  world  to  refrain  from  laugh- 
ing. I  am  not  in  the  least  surprised,  for  to  speak 
the  truth,  my  dear  friend,  they  were  dressed  badly 
enough  and,  singular  to  say,  not  one  of  them  has 
distinguished  manners. 

We  had  done  well  to  vaunt  their  simplicity  and 
their  contempt  of  all  formalities.  "  Ton  my 
faith"  said  the  Queen,  "I  must  say  that  they  are 
nothing  but  rabble!" 

"But"  I  answered,  "look  at  Dr.  Franklin's 
white  hat,  it  is  the  emblem  of  innocence."  "And 
at  his  spectacles,"  said  the  Countess,  "they  are 
what  I  call  real  economy"  (one  of  the  lenses  was 
broken).  "This  Dr.  Franklin,"  said  Her  Majesty, 
"is  really  very  singular  in  everything."  We 
laughed  at  the  sally  and  the  Queen  regained  her 
good  humour.  The  Duke  de  Coigny  who  was 
present  at  the  time  assured  her  that  singular  as 
the  doctor  was  with  his  white  hat  and  one-lensed 
spectacles,  he  had  nevertheless  found  the  secret 
of  bottling  up  lightning,  and  that,  uncorking  it, 
he  could  cause  worse  troubles  than  Pandora  when 
she  opened  her  box,  or  the  companions  of  Ulysses 
when  they  opened  the  goatskin.*     All  of  which 


•  Which  contained   the   wind.     Transl. 


25 


made  us  laugh  very  heartily  because  we  did  not 
understand  a  word  of  what  he  was  saying. 

In  short,  up  to  the  present  time  we  have  man- 
aged things  fairly  well.  But,  for  heavens  sake, 
my  friend,  send  me  some  dancing  masters  and 
french  tailors  for  the  barbaric  ambassadors,  and 
above  all,  get  his  Excellency  the  doctor  to  have  his 
glasses  mended. 

Goodbye, 

Lamballe. 


To  Monsieur  de  Sartine 

London,  February  15,  1775. 

Monsieur, 

From  day  to  day  I  am  more  convinced  of  the 
difficulties  of  securing  secrets  worth  knowing. 
You  have  foreseen  this  when  indicating  the  per- 
sons who  would  be  likely  to  be  of  greatest  use 
to  me  in  my  secret  embassy.  At  the  head  of 
your  list  I  find  Monsieur  Le  Texier.  I  went  to  see 
him  at  his  house  in  Market  Lane,  and  this  is  the 
result  of  my  interview.  At  first  he  assured  me 
that  his  country  was  still  dear  to  him,  but  that 
at  present  he  was  obliged  to  give  his  love  of  her 
a  little  rest,  because,  to  obtain  the  management 
of  the  Opera,  he  had  been  forced  by  his  patrons 
to  swear  never  to  write  anything  on,  or  to  speak 
of  anything  relating  to,  politics.  I  showed  him 
plainly  that  this  could  only  have  reference  to 
speaking  in  public,  and  that  we  could  easily  have 
nightly  conferences.     "Ah,  Monsieur"  he  cried, 

26 


"remember  Beaumarchais  and  Deon,  our  ren- 
dezvous would  but  serve  to  renew  the  idea  of  the 
'Pairing  of  the  Spies'  and  people  would  not  fail 
to  ask  themselves  which  of  the  two  is  the  male." 
He  continued  to  assure  me  that  he  was  attached 
to  his  country  and  to  Monsieur  de  Sartine,  and 
after  having  cogitated  for  some  time  he  said  that 
he  believed  he  had  found  an  altogether  new  means, 
a  means  that  was  more  curious  than  the  hiero- 
glyphs and  the  lemon  juice,  and  would  serve  to 
communicate  with  me  without  in  the  least  violat- 
ing his  promise.  "How?"  I  asked.  "How?  by 
the  way  I  have  my  hair  dressed."  By  the  way 
he  has  his  hair  dressed,  you  ask  me?  Yes,  and 
we  have  so  well  chosen  our  signals  that  at  present 
I  can  with  the  aid  of  my  glasses  read  all  his 
thoughts  regarding  politics  by  the  arrangement 
and  the  number  of  his  curls.  And  this  even 
though  we  be  at  opposite  ends  of  the  great  hall 
of  the  Opera.  For  instance :  if  the  stocks  should 
appear  to  be  rising  or  falling  his  curls  will  be 
placed  over  or  under  his  ears,  which  at  this  dis- 
tance are  for  me  a  sort  of  barometer  or  scale, 
showing  me  the  changes  likely  to  take  place.  In 
the  same  way  I  determine  by  the  largeness  or 
smallness  of  the  curls  whether  the  ministers  are 
rigid  or  flexible  toward  the  Americans,  and  if  he 
augment  or  diminish  their  number  I  know  that 
the  parties  are  growing  stronger  or  weaker.  Very 
valuable  knowledge  indeed  while  Parliament  is 
in  session.  I  wished  that  he  would  elaborate  on 
the  idea  and  that  he  had  arranged  so  the  differ- 
ent sides  of  his  head  would  express  his  ideas  on 
the  opposing  parties.    The  right,  for  instance,  for 

27 


the  Cabinet  and  the  left  for  the  opposition,  the 
curls  of  one  side  for  the  Whigs  and  those  of  the 
other  for  the  Tories,  and  to  express  by  these 
means  the  "yes's"  and  "no's"  by  the  proportions 
of  the  curls  of  the  different  sides.  "It's  too  much 
to  ask  of  me"  he  answered,  when  I  proposed  it 
to  him  "even  if  it  were  possible  to  gain  Madame 
Hubbard's  approval  of  so  paradoxical  a  hairdress, 
the  novelty  alone  would  be  enough  to  arouse  sus- 
picion and  perhaps  lead  to  our  being  caught." 
With  this  exception  he  has  promised  to  be  very 
exact  in  his  communications.  He  has,  conse- 
quently, made  a  secretary  of  his  valet,  in  so  far 
as  he  gives  me  news  of  what  passes  in  his  mas- 
ter's head  by  his  manner  of  dressing  his  hair. 
You  see  for  yourself,  sir,  how  difficult  it  is  to 
worm  a  few  secrets  even  from  the  best  of  your 
friends  and  on  how  very  delicate  distinctions  my 
discoveries  depend.  I  do  not,  however,  let  these 
difficulties  discourage  me,  for  I  believe  that,  ulti- 
mately, it  will  be  possible  to  obey  your  orders. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be, 

Sir, 

Your  most  humble,  etc. 


28 


LIST  OF  STRIKING  TITLES 

For  pamphlets  to  be  written  and  of  translations 
to  be  made,  all  of  which  are  in  our  favor.     (S . . . ) 

Portfolio  of  Monsieur  Voltaire,  published  by 
his  heir.  Plenty  of  blasphemies,  and  still  more 
paradoxes  to  amuse  the  Americans. 

The  Merchant  Aristocracy,  twelfth  edition,  re- 
vised and  corrected,  for  the  use  of  the  Ministers 
of  His  Majesty,  by  Monsieur  Terray  *  (Captain 
of  vessels  in  the  service  of  H.M.)  and  by  Mon- 
sieur Beaumarchais. 

The  Harmony  of  Despotism  and  Anarchy,  dedi- 
cated to  the  author  of  "Common  Sense,"  a  poem 
written  to  celebrate  the  alliance  of  His  Majesty 
with  America. 

Liberal  Thoughts  on  the  Bastille,  a  refutation 
in  advance  of  all  pamphlets  our  enemies  may 
write. 

Dialogue  in  Hell  between  Lally  and  D'Estaing. 
This  brochure  should  be  written  at  once,  but  it 
is  not  necessary  to  publish  it  yet,  for  D'Estaing 
may  still  escape  if  Admiral  Byron  has  any  taste 
at  all  for  illuminations. 

Heads  their  Trumps.  Eulogy  on  the  two 
brothers,  the  Howes. 

The  Queen's  Choice  between  Pallas  and  Venus 
Imitating  the  choice  of  Hercules,  an  ode,  because 
such  wonders  demand  the  sublime. 

Mentor  and  Telemach,  or,  a  Bride  for  the  Colt. 
A  flattery  for  old  Maurepas  and  His  Majesty. 

/  ivash  my  Hands.    Excuse  for  myself. 


29 


TRANSLATIONS  OF  ENGLISH  PAMPHLETS 

Collection  of  Speeches  made,  and  of  Pamphlets 
read,  by  Mr.  Burke  in  the  House  of  Parliament. 
Literal  translation. 

Letter  from  Monsieur  Hartly  to  His  Constitu- 
ents at  Hull.  The  solicitations  and  the  spelling 
a  little  corrected. 

The  periodical  libels  which  appear  under  the 
name  of  *'The  Englishman"  but  for  which  the 
title  "The  Frenchman"  would  be  more  appropri- 
ate. 

Finally  all  that  can  be  found  at  the  shop  of 
Sieur  Almon,  since  the  dismissal  of  the  Duke  of 
Grafton,  excepting  always  the  "Letters  of 
Junius." 


•  Discharged    for    having    elaborated    a    little    too    much    on    hla 
theory  in  overloading  his  frigate  with   merchandise. 


30 


To  Monsieur  de  Sartine 

Tuesday  morning  at  11:15. 

My  dear  Sartine, 

What  shall  I  do  with  the  enclosure?  Not  a 
week  passes  but  I  receive  two  or  three  letters 
from  this  man.  What  he  says  is  very  true,  and 
I  think  we  should  do  something  for  him,  or  at 
least  promise  to  do  something.  I  hope  your 
head-ache  is  better.  The  Duchess  asks  me  to 
tell  you  that  you  will  never  make  any  headway  so 
long  as  you  persist  in  listening  to  the  drivel  of 
old  Maurepas.  It  seems  to  her  that  one  is  pun- 
ished enough  by  being  obliged  to  listen  to  the 
king.  If  you  have  nothing  better  to  do  after  the 
opera,  have  supper  with  us. 

De  Chartres. 
P.S.  You   are  too   kind   in   enquiring  about  the 
health  of  our  little  Valois.    It  was  nothing  but  a 
catarrh.    His  mother  would  insist  on  taking  him 
to  see  the  illuminations. 


(Enclosure)      Toulon,  on  Board  the  Royal  Louis, 
September  14,  1778. 

His  Highness  the  Duke  de  Chartres. 
Highness, 

I  am  not  in  the  least  astonished  that  the  press 
of  affairs  which  without  cessation  occupy  your 
Highness,  have  made  you  forget  an  affair  of  so 
little  consequence  as  the  interest  of  a  simple  indi- 


31 


vidual.  Allow  me  to  observe  that  at  a  moment 
when  the  nation  is  celebrating  the  naval  victory 
of  July  27th,  it  should  be  an  honor  for  that  na- 
tion to  reward  me  for  the  advice  I  have  presumed 
to  give  and  which,  happily,  has  been  so  success- 
ful. Without  my  advice  the  equipment  of  the 
fleet  by  which  you  have  acquired  so  great  a  repu- 
tation, would  have  been  retarded  for  a  long  time 
or,  perhaps,  altogether  thwarted.  I  beg  to  re- 
mind your  Highness  that  it  was  solely  at  my  in- 
stigation that  copies  of  the  "Order  to  throw 
Anchor  at  Brest"  were  placed  on  board  the  ves- 
sels taken  by  the  English.  I  foresaw  plainly 
enough  that  they  would  be  duped,  and  conse- 
quently, alarmed.  Events  have  even  surpassed 
my  expectations.  The  English  fleet  retired  and 
ours  was  equipped  without  hindrance.  I  dare 
to  flatter  myself  that  your  Highness  will  take  it 
upon  yourself  to  see  to  my  advancement,  and  to 
furnish  me  by  these  means  with  occasions  to  show 
my  zeal  in  battle  as  I  have  shown  it  in  council.  I 
have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  most  profound 
respect. 

Your  Highness, 

Your  very  humble  and  very  obedient, 
Jean,  Jacques,  Charles,  Louis  Gasconard. 

Marine  Guards. 


32 


To  Monsieur  de  Sartine 

Monday  Evening,  6:30  p.  m. 

Alas,  my  dear  Sartine,  our  excitement  and  our 
hoi)es  have  vanished  at  the  same  moment.  It 
may  be  that  great  emotions  do  not  last  long  or 
it  may  be  the  expense  of  the  illuminations  has 
had  the  same  effect  as  a  bleeding  has  in  a  fever, 
this  "Keppelerie"  has  altogether  ceased.  More 
of  this  favorite  dish  of  the  bourgeois  in  honor  of 
innocence.  More  grave  stones  and  candles,  more 
aldermen  v^ith  blue  cockades,  more  bourgeoises 
of  the  garter  a  la  Keppel.  He  has  refused  to  take 
command  of  the  fleet  and  his  popularity  has  been 
razed  to  the  ground  like  his  pavilion.  Thus  ends 
this  strange  farce  in  which  we  have  seen  the 
principal  actors  successful  and  being  blamed  for 
it,  being  thanked  by  the  Parliament  and  forgot- 
ten by  the  people.  It  is  a  well  concerted  plan  and 
promises  much.  We  will  have  to  put  some  other 
intrigue  in  motion  to  create  that  disunion  in  the 
nation  which  has  always  been  so  great  an  expedi- 
ent. 

I  am  very  sincerely  your  etc., 
Franklin. 

P.S.  This  bad  news  troubles  me  so  that  I  think 
I  will  not  come  to  sup  with  you.  Have  the  kind- 
ness to  make  my  excuses  to  Madame  de  Sartine. 
If  I  feel  better,  I  will  come  tomorrow. 


33 


(Satire  found  in  the  Tuilleries,  written  appar- 
ently by  the  Marquis  de  Louvois.  I  have  ad- 
vised D'Orvilliers  to  court  him  more  than  ever. 

S ) 


A  Word  to  the  Reader 

The  naval  victory  of  July  27th,  indicisive  as 
it  was,  has  been  so  strongly  claimed  by  both  sides 
that  it  is  not  possible  to  accede  it  to  one  nation 
without  outraging  the  convincing  reasonings  of 
the  other.  I  flatter  myself  to  have  found  a  way 
of  satisfying  all  Paris,  without  compromising 
myself,  and  leave  everyone  to  read  as  he  pleases. 
The  double  creed  of  the  Jesuits  furnished  me  with 
the  idea,  and  the  desire  to  satisfy  everybody  made 
me  execute  it.  Those  who  wish  to  read  an  Eng- 
lish victory  read  the  following  verses  column- 
wise, while  those  who  would  persuade  themselves 
that  D'Orvilliers  was  the  victor,  read  them  cross- 
wise. As  to  myself,  I  have  been  so  convinced  by 
the  excellent  reasonings  of  both  parties  that  I 
am  of  both  opinions.  Those  who  think  as  I,  read 
them  both  ways. 


34 


The  Victory  of  July  27 

Proved  and  granted  to  him  who  has  the  Hght 
of  claim 


They  have  lost  their  mem-  Who  say  the  English  were 

ory.  victorious. 

Who  give  the  victory  to  the  Have  reason  to  feel  elated. 
French. 

When  Monsieur  d'Orvilliers  The  truth  is  clear  and  good. 
writes. 

One   reads   a   lot  of  false-  In  the  defense  which  Kep- 

hood.  pel  presented. 

False  reports  that  I  detest !  One  cannot  escape. 

When  one  is  strong  enough  If  one  finds  the  enemy, 
one  remains. 

The   French    entered   their  When  the  enemy  had  taken 

port.  flight. 

The    English    found    them-  One  dispenses  with  pursuit, 
selves  the  stronger. 


35 


To  Monsieur  de  Sartine 

Friday  Morning  at  11:30. 

Why  did  you  break  your  word?  I  waited  for 
you  all  the  evening — all  the  evening — alone!  How 
you  would  have  enjoyed  my  remarks  on  the  en- 
closure! I  was  obliged  to  use  all  my  eloquence, 
I  assure  you,  to  obtain  permission  to  read  it. 
Angelique  was  in  the  sunniest  of  humours  all 
the  morning  while  dressing  me  and,  certainly,  I 
expected  some  wonderful  news.  At  last  she  told 
me  that  she  had  received  a  letter  from  America. 
I  am  sending  it  you.  You  know  that  Monsieur 
Marechal,  the  valet  of  the  Marquis  de  La  Fayette 
always  has  had  a  tender  regard  for  my  Angelique. 
You  and  I  have  often  laughed  at  the  expense  of 
his  master, — ridiculous  Don  Quixote  that  he  is! 
Why  should  we  not  amuse  ourselves  at  the  cost 
of  his  squire?  Tonight,  until  then,  my  dear  lit- 
tle angel,  think  of 

Your  passionate  and  faithful 

Du  The. 


(The  Enclosure) 

Mademoiselle  Angelique,  Chambermaid  etc.,  etc., 
etc.,  etc.,  of  Mademoiselle  Du  The. 

n 

Philadelphia,  September  24,  -78. 

At  last,  divine  Angelique,  love  smiles  upon  us. 
My  master  is  tired  of  these  savages.  We  are  re- 
turning and  your  faithful  Marechal  will  lay  his 
laurels  at  your  feet.    How  your  little  heart  would 

36 


have  beaten  the  day  we  prepared  ourselves  for 
battle!  I  say  ive,  for  I  had  resolved,  that,  should 
my  master  be  killed,  I  would  not  stand  by  with 
folded  arms,  and  as  he  had  sent  Milord  Carlisle 
a  challenge  for  having  dared  to  be  disrespectful 
to  his  master,  by  God  and  all  the  Saints  of  Para- 
dise, had  he  been  beaten,  I  would  have  made  Mon- 
sieur Storer  regret  that  he  mocked  mine! 

But  the  English  poltroon  sent  the  Marquis  an 
excuse.  Unhappy  affair!  after  all  the  expenses 
we  had  preparing  for  this  duel!  Oh,  Angelique! 
what  a  wonderful  duelling-dress!  Superb!  Crim- 
son cloth,  interwoven  with  olives  in  gold  and  lined 
by  one  of  the  best  furriers  that  America  ever 
produced.  Wonderful  shoes  with  red  heels  as 
well  made  as  these  miscarriages  know  how. 
What  a  grand  sight  it  would  have  been  had  they 
fought!  I  had  put  the  Marquis'  hair  in  curling 
papers,  and  intended  to  make  him  six  curls  on 
either  side.  But  now — everything  is  at  an  end, 
and  we  are  leaving  this  country.  To  speak  the 
truth,  my  dear  Angelique,  the  Congress  of  Milord 
Washington  is  in  despair !  All  day  yesterday  my 
master  was  busy  writing  them  a  letter  of  consola- 
tion. I  listened  and  heard  him  read  out  the 
superb  words  "The  moment  I  heard  speak  of 
America,  I  loved  her.  The  moment  I  heard  that 
she  was  at  war,  I  burned  with  desire  to  spill  my 
blood  for  her.  And  the  moment  I  can  be  of  use 
to  her  is  the  only  moment  worth  living  for!"  Oh 
lovely  Angelique!  hov/  beautiful  are  these  few 
moments!  Beautiful,  however,  as  they  may  be, 
they  do  not  compare  with  those  I  reserve  for 
thee!     The  Marquis'  letter  had  all  the  expected 

37 


44  7340 


success.  The  Congress  of  Milord  Washington, 
everything  considered,  behaved  pretty  well  in  this 
instance.  They  wrote  their  Doctor  Ambassador 
telling  him  to  buy  a  beautiful  sword  which  is  to 
be  presented  to  my  master.  What  do  you  say  to 
this,  Angelique?  What  is  more.  Monsieur  Lau- 
rens in  his  letter  prayed  God  to  bless  and  protect 
the  Marquis.  What  a  sword!  What  a  benedic- 
tion! As  to  me,  they  have  presented  me  with 
neither  one  nor  the  other.  Devil  take  them!  If 
they  had  given  me  a  nice  sword  I  would  have  dis- 
pensed with  their  benediction.  But,  my  dear 
Angelique,  love  me  always  and  I  gladly  renounce 
both  their  swords  and  their  benedictions! 
I  am,  and  will  be,  all  my  life, 
Thy  slave, 

Jean,  Charles,  Jacques  Marechal. 


38 


SECRET  DISTRIBUTIONS 

Livres,  Sola. 
To  Monsieur  for  suppressing  a 

libel  against  the  queen   80,000.0 

To  the  same  for  sending  us  English  grey- 
hounds           20,000.0 

To  M.  Jacques  for  advice  received  and  for 

expenses  while  in   prison    20,000.0 

To  the  same  for  payments  made  to  M.  Smith 

of  Plymouth,  M of  Portsmouth, 

M apothecary    at     Chatham, 

Mdslle    of    Deptford,    Madame 

of    Bristol,    Messrs 

of  Limehouse,  Wapping,  Blackwal,  etc.,  etc         15,000.0 

To  an  Alderman  of  London  for  the  budget 
of  his  regiment  of  the  Militia.  To  Alder- 
man Lee  for  information.  It  is  a  question 
whether  such  a  sum  ever  came  to  his 
notice     10,000.0 

To  Colonel  Brome  of  the  Artillery  of  St. 
James'  Park  for  an  exact  calculation  of  the 
English   artillery    12,000.0 

To  the  widow  and  the  pretty  little  child  of 

the  late  M.  Jean  le  Peintre   4,000.0 

To  the  Reverend  Jackson,  editor  of  the  Led- 
ger, the  General  Adviser,  and  the  London 
Packet,  N.  B.  He  was  recommended  to 
me  by  my  good  friend  the  Duchess  of 
Kingston     11,298.4* 


•  This  Is  a  fraction  of  what  I  have  paid  up  to  the  latest  editions 
of  the  said  Ledger,  General  Adviser  and  London  Packet. 

39 


Ldvres,  Sola. 
To  the  Honorable  T.  W.  for  important  in- 
formation            80,000.0 

N.B.  His  Excellency  Dr.  Franklin  prom- 
ised to  reimburse  us  for  the  full  sum  so 
soon  as  affairs  are  better. 

To  M.  Panchaud  who,  instead  of  being  a 
bull,  found  himself  a  bear,  while  trying  to 
cause  a  drop  of  the  English  stocks,  when 
the  news  of  the  capture  of  the  St.  Lucie,  of 
the  capitulation  of  Pondicherry,  and  the 
blockading  of  D'Estaing  arrived  at  so  inop- 
portune a  moment 400,000.0 

To  the  same  for  money  advanced  T.  W.  who 

lost  in  a   similar  enterprise    155,000.0 

To  money  advanced  Dr.  Franklin  until  the 
arrival  of  his  fleet  carrying  tobacco 130,000.0 

To   his    Excellency   Silas    Dean   for   use   in 

America    100,000.0 

To  his   [third]    Excellency    100,000.0 

To  M.  Sayre,  Ambassador  to  the  Court  of 
the  king  of  Prussia  for  not  being  success- 
ful in  gaining  an  audience   80,000.0 

To  illuminations  of  the  Pont  Neuf  and  by 

order  of  the  Duke  de  Chartres   10,000.0 

To  several  poets  for  a  quantity  of  odes  on 
the  naval  victory  of  July  27th,  at  six  sous 
per  line    5,000.0 

To  his  Excellency  Dr.  Franklin  to  buy  a 
sword  which  Congress  has  ordered  to  be 
presented  to  the  Marquis  La  Fayette  ....  1,000.0 

40 


Livres,  Sola. 
To  Beaumarchais  to  pay  for  the  two  vessels 

which  he  bought  from  the  king   100,000.0 

To  Gerard  to  distribute  secret  presents 
among  the  members  of  the  Congress,  snuff- 
boxes ornamented  with  a  portrait  of  the 
king,  for  their  wives  and  daughters,  and  a 
box  filled  with  rouge,  of  the  kind  the 
Queen  uses,  for  Milady  Washington,  twice 
as  beautiful  as  the  sword  presented  to  the 
Marquis  de  La  Fayette,  etc 600,000.0 

To  Duke  de  I'Vauguyon  for  having  nego- 
tiated a  loan  in  Holland 150,000.0 

To  my  secretary  for  his  personal  use  as  a 
recompense  for  his  integrity   500,000.0 

5,434.298.0 
Arnold. 


41 


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42 


(The  following  letter  was  well  worth  decipher- 
ing. It  is  from  the  best  of  my  spies.  The  project 
is  excellent,  I  shall  make  use  of  it.  This  bait 
should  serve  to  amuse  our  sugar  merchants  al- 
though they  gain  nothing,  even  if  the  scheme 
should  be  successful.  But  I  doubt  it  will  be — I 
don't  like  the  breed  of  which  D'Orvilliers  speaks, 
they  can  be  as  dangerous  in  Jersey  as  they  were 
in  Ouessant. 

S ) 


We  have  at  present  a  good  chance  to  attack 
Jersey. 

All  the  officers  of  the  Navy  are  quarrelling 
among  themselves. 

The  past  occupies  them  so,  that  they  forget 
the  present. 

There  is  a  large  quantity  of  our  sugar  on  the 
Island. 

And  the  governor  is  in  London,  haranguing 
Parliament. 

But  above  all,  it  is  necessary  that  Milord  Sand- 
wich be  dismissed. 

For  it  is  certain  at  present  (that)  the  shirts  of 
the  pensioners  are  not  long  enough 

To  keep  the  poor  men  from  feeling  cold,  or  to 
reach  down  into  their  trousers. 

Therefore  we  can  expect  plenty  of  riots,  re- 
volts and  all  sorts  of  evil. 


43 


The  reader  probably  expects  to  find  here  the 
letter  about  Lord  Rockingham's  party  which  the 
spy  promised  in  one  of  his  previous  letters,  but 
it  is  impossible  for  the  editor  to  publish  it.  It 
is  true  that  such  a  letter  was  among  those  found 
in  the  box,  but  it  is  largely  crossed  out  and 
effaced,  and  the  little  that  could  be  read  is  severely 
critical  of  Lord  Rockingham's  party,  as  it  is 
called.  Perhaps  Monsieur  de  Sartine  believes  that 
all  people  who  are  openly  sworn  enemies  of  the 
British  cabinet,  are  partisans  of  the  French  min- 
isters, and  that  consequently  he  should  efface 
these  satires  as  contrary  to  his  own  interests. 
Or  perhaps  politeness  overcame  politics,  and  al- 
though he  was  very  much  offended  at  the  pleas- 
antries indulged  in  *  at  the  expense  of  the 
Shelburnists,  he  nevertheless  strongly  disap- 
proved of  becoming  personal  on  any  occasion  or 
on  any  subject.  Be  this  as  it  may,  he  had  effaced 
certain  words  and  left  others.  For  example :  one 
reads  at  first,  although  with  great  difficulty,  plenty 
of  matters  about  the  aristocracy,  and  against  the 
pretentions  of  some  gentlemen  who  imagine  they 
should  be  ministers  of  state,  because  their  an- 
cestors were  very  simple  and  honest  men  of  the 
last  century.  This  part  is  least  effaced  and  at  the 
side  the  words  "Hereditary  Virtue"  can  be 
clearly  read. 

In  the  part  following  this  he  excitedly  demands 
to  know  why  the  descendants  of  Dutch  families 
pretend  to  a  right  of  governing  the  reigning 
king  because  their  ancestors  belonged  to  the  court 
of  King  William,  and  why  George  III,  to-day  gives 


*  Probably :    "indulged  in  by  Lord  Rockingham's  party."     Transl. 

44 


two  or  three  dukes  the  preference  because  Charles 
II  was  hopelessly  amourous  of  their  great-grand- 
mothers. Monsieur  de  Sartine  had  also  effaced 
this  but  he  had  written  in  large  letters  "Very  zeal- 
ous old  Whigs"  above  it.  Near  the  names  of  Gren- 
ville  and  Burke  the  words  "Stamp  Act,"  "Decla- 
tory  Law,"  "contradiction"  and  "party"  could 
still  be  read.  The  whole  is  followed  by  compli- 
ments on  the  sagacity  of  the  one  and  the  eloquence 
of  the  other.  This  Lord  Rockingham's  party 
appears  to  have  been  presented  under  the  alle- 
gorical form  of  a  home  for  invalid  admirals  and 
generals,  of  a  "Chelsea  Parlementaria"  where 
wounded  honor  and  libelled  reputation  found  an 
asylum.  Monsieur  de  Sartine  had  also  passed  his 
pen  through  this,  but  lightly,  so  as  not  to  damage 
the  already  mutilated  MS.  too  much,  and  only  the 
shadow  of  a  line  through  whole  pages  of  pane- 
gyrics which  follow.  "Indiscretion  of  youth" 
and  "New  Market"  were  the  only  words  more 
difficult  to  make  out.  In  his  postscript  he  had 
given  a  list  of  the  persons  who  were  at  all  times 
to  be  admitted  to  the  levees  of  Lord  Rockingham. 
This  list  had  been  procured  for  him,  as  I  under- 
stand it,  by  his  wife  through  the  agency  of  the 
chambermaid  of  Milady  Rockingham  whom  the 
porter  of  the  marquis  had  given  a  copy.  This 
has  been  torn  up,  but  on  one  of  the  fragments 
the  names  of  M.  Burke,  M.  Nollekins,  M.  Charles 
Turner,  the  Duke  of  Grafton,  James  Lee,  James 
Rider  and  of  Sir  George  Howard  can  still  be 
read,  and  on  one  of  the  pieces  is  that  of  Captain 
Walsingham,  with  a  question  mark  after  the 
word  "Colonel." 

45 


To  Monsieur  de  Sartine 
On  sending  him  a  letter  of  M.  Necker. 

What  a  letter  I  am  sending  you !  The  king  read 
it  and  shivered,  and  I  myself  could  not  read  it 
without  feeling  the  darkest  apprehensions.  We 
must  determine  to  do  something,  the  sooner  the 
better.  Why  has  the  "Mothe  Piquet"  not  yet 
sailed?  America  opens  her  arms  wide  to  receive 
us.  What  a  blow  if  De  Grasset  is  not  successful. 
I  am  really  afraid.  D'Estaing  has  failed  to  real- 
ise our  hopes.  "Le  pacte  de  Famille"  is  no 
longer.  May  it  please  the  Lord  to  allow  me  to 
retire  to  my  chateau,  and  to  live  in  peace  with  all 
Europe.  Meanwhile — do  you  believe  we  shall  be 
able  to  do  something  this  summer?  If  not,  we 
must  follow  Necker's  advice. 
Your,  etc., 

Maurepas. 

P.S.  I  have  vn*itten  to  my  friend  in  London  for 
information  whether  Admiral  Arbuthnot  will  re- 
tire soon,  and  whether  Sir  E.  Hughes  will  remain 
at  Goree. 


46 


(Enclosure) 

To  Count  de  Maurepas 

Monday  morning. 

My  dear  Monsieur, 

The  affection  you  bear  our  master  the  king, 
and  the  disinterestedness  which  I  know  governs 
your  thoughts  of  our  country,  and  your  earnest 
desire  to  help  our  compatriots,  whose  courage  and 
fortitude,  however  great  they  be,  will  not  be  able 
to  bear  up  much  longer  against  the  woes  that 
overwhelm  them, — all  these  demand  that  I  give 
you,  in  as  few  words  as  possible,  a  picture  of  the 
actual  situation  of  this  kingdom  in  regard  to 
its  commerce,  its  resources,  its  revenues,  its  actual 
expenses,  and  that  I  show  you  as  well  as  I  am 
able  to  do  so,  to  what  misery  it  will  be  reduced  if 
this  unhappy  war  does  not  soon  cease.  I  do  not 
doubt,  that  on  this  occasion  as  on  every  other, 
you  will  attribute  my  zeal  to  the  disinterestedness 
which  has  always  been  characteristic  of  my  every 
action,  and  that  you  will  do  me  justice  in  speak- 
ing to  the  king.     More  I  do  not  ask. 

You  know,  my  dear  Sir,  the  nature  of  the  com- 
plaints of  all  our  agents  and  all  our  merchants. 
Most  of  them  have  been  ruined  by  the  prizes  Eng- 
land took  from  them.  Our  revenues  are  not  large 
enough  to  compensate  them  for  their  losses.  Those 
v/ho  are  not  yet  bankrupt,  expect  to  be  so  any 
day,  for  all  the  isles  that  remain  to  us,  are  block- 
aded. In  losing  Pondicherry  we  lost  the  commerce 
of  India.     Goree  may  fall  in  a  similar  manner, 

47 


and  then  the  same  will  happen  to  the  commerce 
of  Africa.  Even  if  our  merchandise  reaches  the 
Channel,  we  have  no  fleet  to  protect  it,  and  Eng- 
land makes  an  easy  prize  of  it.  That  is  the  actual 
state  of  French  commerce.  As  to  our  revenues, 
you  doubtlessly  know,  that  even  in  times  of  peace 
they  do  not  cover  our  expenses.  In  1769  these 
expenses  exceeded  our  revenues  by  30  millions, 
In  1770  having  mounted  to  70  millions,  when  Abbe 
Terray  made  his  large  reductions,  they  still  ex- 
ceeded our  income  by  17  millions.  The  total  of 
our  revenues,  including  the  sums  gained  by  the 
suppression  of  the  king's  privileges  and  the  ap- 
propriation of  several  abbies,  do  not  amount  to 
more  than  380  millions,  160  of  which  are  rentals, 
a  sum  which  this  year  will  not  be  so  considerable 
as  the  figure  quoted. 

Millions 
Annual    expenditure    for   life-pensions    and    the    in- 
terests paid  by  the  king,  amount  to  more  than  . .     139 
Expenditure  of  all  departments,  including  the  king's 
household,  civil  and  military,  and  the  aliments  of 

the  princes,  are  more  than 200 

Special  expenses,  used  last  year  exclusively  for  the 
navy,  amount  to  100 

439 
Deduction  for  a  loan  made  last  year 40 

399 

It  appears  by  this  detailed  account  that  after 
only  one  year  of  war  we  find  ourselves  burdened 
by  an  excess  of  40  millions  in  our  expenses. 

These,  my  dear  friend,  are  the  exact  conditions 
of  our  exchequer,  and  although  we  raised  a  loan 
of  40  million  last  year  (with  the  intention  of  mak- 
ing our  enemies  believe  that  we  were  less  in  need 

48 


of  money  than  they  and  still  more  to  keep  our 
compatriots  from  protesting  against  the  taxes 
usually  levied  at  the  beginning  of  a  war)  we  are 
obliged  to  immediately  negotiate  for  larger  loans, 
or  we  will  not  be  able  to  continue  it.  The  prov- 
inces, 't  is  true,  especially  Bretagne  and  Langue- 
doc  have  shown  themselves  very  patriotic  in  their 
contributions,  but  I  am  forced  to  remark  that 
their  help  is  like  a  drop  of  water  in  the  ocean. 

No  matter  how  carefully  I  calculate,  I  am  hardly 
able  to  keep  the  budgets  for  "Bridges  and  Roads," 
of  the  Artillery,  of  the  Waterways,  the  Special 
Pensions,  etc.,  etc.,  from  exceeding  the  normal 
figure.  Step  by  step  with  our  debts  grows  the 
embarrassment  of  the  individual  and  he  demands 
with  more  and  more  insistency  what  the  state 
owes  him. 

The  expenses  for  the  fleet  equipped  last  year 
were  enormous,  and  we  gained  nothing  at  all  by 
spending  these  immense  sums.  The  repairing  of 
our  men-of-war  after  the  battle  of  July  27,  cost, 
I  am  informed,  as  much  as  the  original  expense 
of  building  them.  Even  if  it  were  possible  to 
form  a  squadron  next  spring  to  cruise  in  the 
Channel,  we  could  not  man  them  as  England  holds 
most  of  our  sailors  as  prisoners  of  war.  Spain 
will  not  come  to  our  assistance.  America  is 
ruined,  we  cannot  lend  them  anything,  nor  help 
them  in  any  way.  Our  commerce  is  ruined  also, 
we  are  on  the  eve  of  another  national  bankruptcy, 
and  peace  only  can  save  France  from  the  ruin 
that  threatens  her.  Abandon  this  American 
cnyiaille! 

Necker. 


49 


To  Monsieur  de  Sartine 

Feb.  28th. 
Dear  Sartine. 

I  cannot  contain  my  rage  till  my  Secretary 
comes  home,  or  trust  my  resentment  to  the  tame- 
ness  of  translation.  I,  the  Ambassador  plenti- 
potentiary  of  the  United  Free  States  of  America, 
have  lived  to  see  the  day,  when  I  must  endure 
the  contempt  of  the  wretched  envoys  of  evvry 
paltri  principalitu.  In  short,  all  the  Ambassa- 
dors refuse  to  rank  with  me.  Doria  Pamphili, 
the  Pope's  Nuncio,  calls  me  Quaker.  Count 
d'Aranda  says  his  Catholic  Majesti  loves  South 
America  too  well,  to  encourage  rebel  colonies. 
Chevalier  Zeno  says  the  Venetians  hate  anything 
but  a  nominal  Republic.  Monsieur  I'Estevenon  de 
Berkenroode,  tells  me  his  States  quarrelled  for 
religion,  not  taxes.  Prince  Briantinski  loves  the 
English,  and  his  mistress  the  Empress  of  Russia, 
desires  him  to  insult  me.  Baron  Golz  refers  me 
to  Mr.  Sayre.  All  this  I  could  bear — but  to  see 
Count  Sickingen,  Baron  Grimm,  Baron  Thun,  and 
Monsieur  Wolff  give  themselves  airs,  drives  me 
to  madness.  In  short,  sir,  I  am  insulted  in  all 
the  languages  of  Europe.  My  religion  is  sati- 
rized in  Italian,  mi  politics  in  Spanish  and  Dutch, 
I  hear  Washington  ridiculed  in  Russian,  and  my- 
self in  all  the  jargon  of  Germany.  I  cannot  bear 
it.  Make  Europe  civil  to  America,  or  I'll  follow 
Silas  Deane. 

Yours, 

Rranklin.* 


*  Misprint  for  "Franklin." 

50 


To  Monsieur  de  Sartine 

Old  Hotel  of  Lautrec 

Monday,  11  a.  m. 

I  hear  that  several  of  our  vessels  have  arrived 

in  Virginia.    I  suppose  that  you  have  a  balance 

of  our  account  with  our  friend  Doctor  Franklin. 

I  should  like  to  know  how  much  we  made  last  year 

Vergennes. 


I'he  following  appears  to  be  but  the  beginning 
of  Monsieur  de  Sartine's  answer  to  Monsieur 
Vergenne's  letter.  There  was  but  one  page  of 
the  account  to  be  found  in  the  box,  and  we  can 
consider  ourselves  lucky  that  this  one  at  least  es- 
caped the  flames. 


51 


My  dear  Vergennes, 

Enclosed  you  will  find  a  statement  of  the  ac- 
count between  ourselves  and  his  Excellency  the 
Merchant-Ambassador.  Read  it  and  burn  it.  It 
is  not  necessary  that  all  the  world  should  know 
how  you  and  I  trafficked.  We  really  could  write 
the  commentary  on  the  "Merchant  Aristocracy." 
It  would  be  but  our  right  to  reward  ourselves 
with  a  few  little  presents  for  all  we  have  gone 
through.  I  am  tired,  I  assure  you,  of  the  bicker- 
ings of  the  court,  and  there  is  nothing  more 
fatiguing  than  to  be  continually  playing  the  role 
of  Proteus.  I  must  lift  the  mask  for  a  moment  in 
writing  to  you,  my  friend,  it  will  ease  me.  Alas ! 
Vergennes,  why  did  we  ever  listen  to  Beaumar- 
chais !  His  absurd  councils  allied  us  to  these  rot- 
ten Americans.  They  owe  us  considerable  sums 
and  we  had  no  chance  of  reimbursement  except 
by  plunging  France  into  this  unhappy  war.  What 
obstacles  have  not  for  a  long  time  beset  our 
every  path !  The  king  whom  nature  designed  for 
a  life  of  ease  and  pleasure,  wants  to  enjoy  both 
and  see  his  subjects  enjoy  them  also.  At  his 
coronation  he  found  the  people  exhausted  by  a 
long  and  ruinous  war,  bankruptcies  made  for 
honor  and  the  creditors'  sakes;  the  spirit  of  the 
people  crushed.  In  spite  of  all  this,  a  sovereign 
like  he,  guided  by  the  sage  councils  of  a  Maurepas, 
would  not  have  failed  to  restore  France  to  her 
ancient  splendor,  while  the  valuable  merchandise 
of  the  Indies  (colonies  of  whose  importance  Col- 
bert was  very  well  aware)  entered  our  ports  and 
were  equally  distributed  among  prince  and  sub- 
jects.   Instead — what  artifices  he  *  used  to  make 

52 


the  king  renounce  so  certain  a  happiness  for  the 
mad  speculation  of  an  alliance  with  America. 
Then  came  the  English  surrender  at  Saratoga, 
and  ambition  could  no  longer  contain  itself. 
Necker  did  have  his  doubts,  but  calm  deliberation 
was  overruled  by  subtle  flattery.  The  queen 
wants  to  control  everything;  we  promised  to  aid 
her,  and  she  governs  the  king.  But  of  what 
use  were  all  these  artifices  ?  We  have  lost  Pondi- 
cherry  and  St.  Lucie,  or,  to  speak  correctly,  we 
have  lost  both  Indies,  for  we  have  no  forces  left 
at  our  disposal  in  the  one  and  D'Estaing  is 
blockaded  in  the  other.  The  bankrupts  of  Bor- 
deaux flood  us  with  remonstrances.  The  cap- 
tains of  the  "Wooden  Legs"  and  their  widows, 
reduced  to  the  "sabot,"  overwhelm  us  with  pe- 
titions. As  to  the  first — you  easily  get  rid  of 
them,  but  Montbarey  is  tired  to  death  of  the 
latter. 

The  young  oITicers  who  at  first  spoke  of  nothing 
but  of  triumphantly  raising  the  "Fleurs  de  Lis" 
and  of  trampling  in  the  dust  the  "Lion  of  Eng- 
land," are  tired  of  their  jobs,  they  have  no  other 
wish  but  to  return  to  Paris.  They  want  to  go  to 
the  Opera,  to  the  Queen's  balls,  to  their  mis- 
tresses, they  want  to  promenade  and  go  to  the 
races — in  short — they  want  to  do  anything  but 
stay  in  their  camps.  The  king  keeps  on  demand- 
ing victories  from  me.  The  Queen  reiterates  that 
the  spectacles  of  Doctor  Franklin  want  mending. 
Maurepas  shakes  his  head.  Necker  calculates 
and  pulls  faces.  The  Spanish  Ambassador  says 
nothing.    Above  all — 

(The  rest  is  missing.) 

•  Colbert. 

63 


Here  is  the  beautiful  sheet  which  escaped  the 
flames. 

— ex  pede  Herculem — 


Page  12 

Account  op  Profits  and  Losses 

OF 

Messrs.  de  Sartine,  Vergennes,  and  his 

Excellency 

Dr.  Franklin,  Associates 

Profits                      Livres  Losses                       Livres 

Forward  2700,000  Forward     957,000 

Share  of  the  prizes  A  third  of  a  cargo  con- 
made  by  the  "Sturdy  signed  to  Boston,  in 
Beggar,"     Captain  the  "Invincible"  taken 

Ephriam  Adams 60,000  by  the  Cutter"Lizard"       40,000 

— Consignment —  Share      of      gunpowder 

A   cargo  of  tobacco  by  in  the  "Ocean"  taken 

the      "Oliver      Crom-  by   the   "Thames"    . .       20,000 

well,"    Captain    John  7/8     of     the     drygoods 

Lee     125,000  in        the        "Vulvan" 

From     the     "Goudron"  thrown   overboard   by 

and   the   "Resine"   by  the  "Venus" 50,000 

the    "Two    Brothers,"  5/16  of  the  pelts  in  the 

Captain      S  o  1  o  m  a  n  "Otter"    sunk   by   the 

Howe   80,000  "Beaver"     23,000 

By    cargoes     from    the  A     cargo     of     matches, 

Carolinas       by       the  saltpetre,  and  sulphur 

"True    Briton,"    Cap-  taken  bythe"Hasard"       37,000 

tain     Sabot,     by    the  Protested  drafts  return- 

" Lively,"    Captain  ed   by   the   "Land    of 

Ebenezer    Darby,    by  Promise"     100,000 

the  "Sprightly,"  Cap- 
tain Caleb  Cushing, 
by  the  "Milady  Wash- 
ington," Captain 
Moses  Hancock 400,000 

Forward    3945,000  Forward    1117,000 


54 


Draft  of  a  Plan  for  the  Ensuing 
Campain 

JERSEY 

A  "coup  de  main."  The  militia  will  doubtlessly 
flee.  The  governor  will  not  return  till  there  is 
nothing  left  to  return  for.  We  are  certain  of 
success.  What  news  for  our  friends  in  Jersey 
and  America! 

Invasion  of  Ireland.  The  inhabitants  are 
nearly  all  papists,  but  unhappilj^  they  enjoy  the 
same  privileges  as  the  protestants.  Our  friends 
in  the  opposition  promise  to  do  the  impossible 
to  make  them  revolt.  One  of  these  gentlemen  is 
even   now   employed   in   engaging   their   priests, 

particularly  Father .     We  must  try 

to  have  the  Irish  copy  the  Americans.  The  Con- 
gress would  hold  its  sessions  at  Dublin.  Cheva- 
lier Newnham  could  be  president.  Write  and 
order  two  or  three  patriotic  speeches  for  the 
English  Parliament,  to  excite  the  Irish  army  to 
rebellion.  Would  to  Heaven,  that  the  French 
people  could  forget  the  name  of  Thurot!  What 
is  more,  the  Irish  are  a  very  giddy  people  and 
although  they  invite  us,  it  would  not  be  surpris- 
ing if,  when  we  landed,  they  mistook  us  for 
enemies.  It  is  even  probable  that  their  giddiness 
makes  them  prefer  the  honor  and  safety  of  Eng- 
land to  the  disinterested  friendship  of  France. 

During  the  summer  months  an  attack  on  South- 
ampton and  Brighthelmstone,  while  the  bathing 
season  is  in  full  swing,  ought  to  cause  an  uproar, 

56 


and  our  young  officers  would  be  charmed  to  as- 
sault the  dancing  halls  and  to  enter  the  bathing 
houses,  sword  in  hand. 

Now  to  a  large  fleet.  The  merchants  will  con- 
tinue to  grumble  if  we  do  not  prove  that  we  have 
their  interests  at  heart  by  some  parade  or  other, 
although  nearly  all  evil  that  possibly  could  befall 
them,  has  befallen  them  already,  for  the  English 
freebooters  have  already  fleeced  them  to  the  tune 
of  twelve  million  pounds  sterling.  Even  if  we 
could  equip  a  large  fleet,  D'Orvilliers  would  dis- 
dain to  stay  in  the  Channel,  for  last  summer,  after 
his  victory,  as  he  calls  it,  the  Atlantic  was  not 
big  enough  to  contain  his  vaingloriousness  and 
the  ambition  of  his  master,  although  all  sorts  of 
things  take  place  in  this  "English  Channel"  as 
the  Islanders  have  the  effrontery  to  call  it.  We 
must  take  care  to  place  garrisons  all  along  our 
coasts,  for,  as  soon  as  Jersey  is  taken,  England 
will  certainly  try  to  make  reprisals.  Not  that 
they  love  to  come  too  near  our  coasts,  but  it  is 
better  to  be  on  our  guard.  Nothing  could  make 
us  look  so  ridiculous  in  the  eyes  of  all  Europe 
than  if  one  or  two  of  their  ships  should  enter 
our  harbors  and  burn  a  number  of  ours. 

If  D'Estaing  beats  Byron,  we'll  send  him  to 
burn  Plymouth,  nobody  is  more  worthy  of  finish- 
ing what  M.  Jean  Le  Peintre  began  than  D'Es- 
taing himself. 

We  are  rather  at  loss  as  to  which  forts  to  at- 
tack. The  fort  of  Dover  is  impregnable.  Tuff- 
nel  commands  there!  It  is  dangerous  to  attack 
Scilly,  Egerton  awaits  us,  firm  as  a  rock.  We 
could  easily  make  ourselves  masters  of  Tilbury, 

56 


if  only  the  entrance  were  not  so  dangerous! 
Many  people  think  it  advisable  to  attack  the  "Five 
Ports"  because  Lord  North  is  governor  and  he 
is  said  to  be  subject  to  sleeping-attacks  while 
on  duty.  He  sleeps,  it  is  true,  but  I  fear  it  is  the 
sleep  of  the  lion  who  never  wakes  but  to  scatter 
his  enemies.  Fort  William  could  perhaps  easily 
be  taken,  for  Mr.  Rigby,  our  great  enemy,  says 
that  the  General  and  Governor  Burgoyne  cannot 
arm  except  in  favor  of  Congress.  After  all,  I 
think  it  will  be  La  Tour,  if  our  vessels  succeed  in 
entering  during  the  night,  for  General  Com- 
wallis  will  be  away  for  a  long  time  and  much 
too  busy  answering  the  questions  of  General 
Howe,  regarding  what  took  place  at  Philadelphia, 
to  have  any  time  to  think  of  us.  Once  masters  of 
La  Tour  we  can  easily  put  the  citizens  of  Lon- 
don to  flight  by  setting  the  lions  and  tigers  of 
the  menagery  on  them,  while  we  amuse  ourselves 
in  the  mint,  and  pillage  the  arsenal ;  for  it  is  there 
that  this  vain  nation  keeps  her  many  spoils  as  a 
proof  of  past  glory  and   our   strange   defeats. 

That's  enough  for  Europe.    As  to  America 

{Hiatus  valde  deflendu) 


57 


The  following  draft  of  an  alliance  with  South 
America  in  one  of  Lauraguais's  pasquinades.  He 
little  imagines  that  we  have  seriously  discussed 
this  subject  in  the  cabinet. 


Project  of  a  "Treaty  of  Friendship  and 
Commerce" 

♦Between  "his  most  Christian  Majesty"  and  the 
"United  States  of  South  America,"  to  be  ratified 
so  soon  as  they  revolt  against  Spain,  which  cannot 
fail  to  happen  in  the  next  two  or  three  years. 

(1)  "In  the  name  of  the  Holy  and  indivisible 
Trinity,"  His  most  Christian  Majesty  will  re- 
ceive an  embassy  composed  of  disrobed  Jesuits 
and  Doctors  of  Philosophy  from  Paraguay,  Chile 
and  Peru.  M.  Conrade  Alexandre  Gerard  (who 
has  already  handled  similar  kinds  of  embassies) 
will  be  nominated  and  constituted  Ambassador 
plenipotentiary  in  all  the  rebelling  states  of  South 
America,  generally  and  particularly.  Charles 
Genevieve  Louise  Auguste-Timothee  d'Eon  de 
Beaumont,t  will  be  nominated  as  Chargee  des 
Affairs  in  the  countries  of  the  Amazones. 

(2)  His  most  Christian  Majesty  will  have  the 
kindness  to  send  all  sorts  of  munitions  of  war  to 
be  used  in  killing  Spaniards,  and  demands  but 
an  ounce  of  gold  dust  for  each  pound  of  gun- 
powder.t 


*  We  have  made  use  of  the  same  terms  as  those  used  in  the 
treaty   with   North   America. 

t  d'Eon  was  considered  a  woman,  until  at  his  death  the  contrary 
was   found   to  be   the  case. 

t  .  •  .  qu'un  once  de  Poudre  d'or  pour  chaque  llvre  de  Poudre 
&  canon. 

58 


(3)  His  most  Christian  Majesty  sends  a  fleet 
to  convoy  the  canoes  of  the  United  States  to  all 
ports  of  the  known  world,  of  which  fleet  D'Es- 
taing  will  not  have  the  command,  even  should  he 
return  sane  and  safe.  This  command  is  reserved 
for  M.  de  Bougainville,  for  whom  the  mermaids 
should  have  lots  of  love. 

(4)  His  most  Christian  Majesty  "promises  his 
good  offices  in  mediating"  in  favor  of  the  in- 
habitants of  Paraguay,  Chile,  and  Peru  with  the 
King  or  Emperor  of  Morocco  or  Fez,  the  Re- 
gents of  Algiers,  Tunis  and  Tripoli,  etc.,  as  well 
as  all  other  African  Kings  and  Emperors,  fur- 
thermore with  the  Emperor  of  Japan,  and  all 
pirate-princes  of  that  quarter  of  the  globe. 

(5)  His  most  Christian  Majesty  is  so  passion- 
ately fond  of  liberty  that  he  is  content  to  give 
his  subjects,  instead  of  all  other  benefactions, 
full  and  complete  liberty  to  fish  at  their  pleasure 
in  all  waters  of  South  America,  because  he  knows 
that  they  love  to  fish  in  troubled  waters. 


Answer  of  the  Queen  to  my  letter  with  which 
I  sent  her  those  of  Maurepas  and  Necker.     (S. . ) 


Monsieur, 

You  will  hardly  believe  how  seriously  I  read 
the  two  letters  you  sent  me.  Really,  they  occu- 
pied my  mind  all  morning  while  my  coiffeur  was 
dressing  my  hair.     Your  correspondents  appear 

59 


to  entertain  grave  doubts  as  to  the  king's  being 
charmed  with  our  war.  But  I  know  that  you  and 
Vergennes  will  continue  it  at  all  costs.  Both  of 
you  are  my  favorites,  and  I  will  never  abandon 
you.  Besides  I  can't  live  without  mixing  in 
politics.  The  nursery  has  for  me  none  of  the 
charms  which  it  appears  to  have  for  Charlotte 
of  England.  And  even  if  I  had  a  failing  for 
domestic  pleasures,  none  of  my  amusements 
could,  if  only  for  appearance'  sake,  coincide  with 
those  of  her  Britannic  Majesty.  Very  well! 
What  does  it  matter?  If  the  soil  of  Versailles  is 
not  propitious  for  the  tender  myrtle,  we  shall 
cultivate  nothing  but  laurels. 

To  make  this  war  fashionable  you  have  to  do 
nothing  but  to  build  camps  in  Normandy  for  our 
young  officers,  they  prefer  them  to  field  quarters. 
As  to  the  Spaniards,  they  can  do  what  they  please. 
Of  what  importance  is  the  "Facte  de  Famille"  as 
long  as  my  brother  is  the  friend  of  France? 
Courage,  sir;  if  D'Estaing  should  perish,  let  him, 
he  would  have  it  so.  Let  us  reserve  our  rein- 
forcements for  brave  d'Orvilliers,  but  we  will 
yet  see  the  day  on  which  we  shall  turn  the  tents 
of  the  English  army  into  a  carpet  for  our  feet! 

Marie. 

P.S.  What  wonderful  feathers  you  sent  me! 
I  shall  not  wear  them  until  the  first  victory  is 
ours.  Let  it  therefore  be  your  ambition  that 
they  do  not  turn  yellow  in  some  closet  of  my 
wardrobe. 


60 


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